


run free, my love

by Shabby Abby (KJPearl)



Category: Friends at the Table (Podcast)
Genre: 5 Times, M/M, Mild humiliation kink, Riding Innuendo, Size Kink
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-06
Updated: 2017-07-06
Packaged: 2018-11-28 17:12:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11422464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KJPearl/pseuds/Shabby%20Abby
Summary: Five times Lem didn't ride Fero, and the one time he did.





	run free, my love

**Author's Note:**

> This is entirely the fault of that one scene in Winter in Hieron episode 17.

It was a night a few weeks after Lem had found Fero wandering through the mountains as a squirrel when Fero brought it up for the first time. The two were out exploring the mountains around the New Archives. Lem because one of his teachers had requested forty-three local bird-spottings over three consecutive days for a pattern and Fero because he had, for some reason, decided to befriend Lem. This seemed to mostly entail following Lem around and stealing his food despite not needing to eat.

“You know, this would go a lot faster if you rode me,” Fero said as they sat around their small campfire the first night of their three-day journey, shivering slightly in the autumn breeze. Lem was glad he hadn’t started eating yet or he was pretty sure he would have choked.

“I- what?” he sputtered. Lem knew other cultures had different romantic and sexual practices. But this seemed extremely forward, by any standards. He’d only known Fero for a month. And besides, the Halfling hadn’t given any indications of attraction to him.

“I’m just saying. I can turn into a horse, then you ride on my back,” Fero spoke slowly, like Lem was the one who’d started speaking gibberish. And perhaps it seemed like he had if Fero had honestly meant horse riding and not, well, the other type. Lem stared at his friend’s face for a few moments, trying to determine if this was some kind of prank. Fero had a peculiar sense of humor and much of it did involve tripping Lem up for his inability to pick up on social cues. However, Fero seemed to be sincere. No mischievous twinkle in his eye or curl to his lip.

“I, um, no. No thank you,” Lem finally said.  

 “What? You don’t think I could do it? I could turn into a horse. The coolest horse!” Fero bragged, but Lem noted that despite his confident words something in Fero seemed to deflate, shoulders hunching inward defensively.

“It’s not that I doubt your druid abilities Fero. I have the utmost faith in that,” Lem thought he saw Fero’s cheeks pinken, but ignored it as he tried to figure out if there was any way to explain to Fero that he’d initially assumed Fero was propositioning him without Fero making fun of him. That seemed unlikely. He settled on a believable lie, “It’s just kind of…awkward. For me to, um, ride you. As a horse. When you’re not a horse. You’re a person.”

“Oh. I hadn’t thought of that,” Fero seemed to accept that answer. He sat in consideration for a for a while and didn’t bring up Lem riding him again that journey.

*

However, Lem’s wish that Fero would just let go of the idea entirely was not granted. It came up again when the two decided to become adventurers. At least that was what Lem was trying to convince himself they’d done. In reality he’d stolen a violin and fled the archives, asking Fero to come with. He remembered the look on Fero’s face when he’d first revealed the rash decision that would change both of their lives.

Fero sat on his bed, a carefully hand-woven mat of straw and grass, that contradicted his careless persona. Lem burst in, gasping, clutching the violin.

“I may have done something extraordinarily stupid,” Lem began, heart racing as he tried to formulate some kind of reasonable explanation for what he’d done.

“By stupid do you just mean, like, fun?” Fero joked. His eyes were bright with mirth, drawing Lem in like they always did. Lem wondered for a moment what would happen if Fero said no to his next request. At first the Halfling had seemed like a naissance, a burr Lem had gotten stuck to his shoe that wouldn’t come off no matter how hard he pushed it away. But as he’d gotten to really know Fero, he realized that they had so much in common, an interest in the world and a desire to make it better. And what was more, even in their differences they were compatible. Where Lem could be sullen and close himself off from others, Fero was able to tease him out of his shell with his jokes. Where Fero could get caught up in immediate issues, Lem helped him see the greater spread of consequences in the pattern. Most frightening of all, Lem had opened himself up to Fero and allowed the other to see both his strengths and insecurities. He had allowed himself to support and rely on Fero in equal measure. If Fero decided not to join him, Lem would miss him more than anything in the Archives, even his own family.

“Um, fun is not the word I would use? I just, well. I saw this violin and it was honestly wasting away from disuse. And it was so beautiful it was like it called to me. I mean look at it,” he held up the engraved violin. Fero seemed unimpressed, Lem nervously ran his hand along the strings, plucking at them discordantly.

“Yeah okay. It’s a pretty violin,” Fero frowned, “So what?”

“So I have, sort of stolen it. And am now a criminal in the eyes of the Archives. So um, when I leave on this mission to Velas…well, I won’t be coming back. I’ll need to go somewhere else, uh, permanently.”

“So you’re saying you’re leaving me. This is goodbye,” Lem couldn’t read the look in Fero’s eyes but he didn’t like it. It was dark, almost wounded.

“No quite the opposite, I was hoping you would agree to come with me. I know it’s a lot to ask. You’ve made your home here, and these mountains, you told me how much they mean to you. And I know I’m not much, but-”

“You’re my best friend Lem. Of course I’m coming with.”

“Oh,” Lem blinked, “Really?”

“Duh,” Fero scoffed, “Wouldn’t you do the same for me?”

“Yes, I just hadn't thought-”

“Nope. I’m your friend and I’m here for you,” Fero grinned wide, “Plus now maybe you’ll ride me as your getaway.”

Even without his initially assumption of the sexual innuendo, there was still something alarmingly intimate about the thought of it. Riding Fero.

“No,” Lem turned away and began walking back to his room to collect his things. He set a pace just fast enough that Fero would be too focused on keeping up to talk.

*

When news of the Old New Museum in Rosemerrow reached Lem and Fero, each had decided to go for their own reasons. Lem, upon the command of Morbash to uncover the truth of the history of gnolls in Rosemerrow, and Fero in search of his father’s old chest. Lem felt Fero had been rather vague on what exactly the chest contained that made it so valuable, but no matter how much Lem questioned him, Fero remained tight lipped, saying only that it was, “important stuff.” In truth Lem didn’t pry too deeply out of fear of annoying Fero away. Fero had spent most of the past three months alone, traveling throughout the woods and fields outside Velas, apparently encountering all manner of interesting creatures. Lem had found himself missing Fero dreadfully over the last three months, and in the process of realizing that, he had also unearthed some rather platonic feelings for his friend. Feelings Lem found himself entirely uncertain how to deal with.

The two traveled to Rosemerrow together, and Fero was using the opportunity of a long journey to take on a horse form. There was something entrancing about seeing the druid in his animal form, a level of freedom Lem found often missing from the Halfling these days. Strangers would only see the happy-go-lucky attitude Fero chose to present, but Lem was his best friend. He saw the burdens that Fero refused to admit he had gained in Nacre, the worries his steps seemed weighed down with. Only in shedding his natural form did Fero seem to shrug free of those burdens. Seeing this, Lem thought he might understand why Fero so often spent his free time roaming the wilderness as an animal.

Lem found himself watching Fero gallop around, running in jittery patterns, from where he maintained a steady pace on his own horse. As he watched, his mind wandered to thoughts he’d prefer to ignore. His quickly developing crush on Fero had recently begun taking every scrap of fantasy it could get to become larger and more embarrassing, and to this day Lem had an unfortunate association with Fero and horses. He couldn’t get the initial image out of his mind. Riding Fero. And not as horse. No, Lem’s mind had conjured up a decidedly sexual image of him riding Fero. The two of them on Fero’s woven mat, or perhaps some straw mattress at an inn. Fero lying upon the bed with Lem above him. He imagined the feel of Fero’s cock inside him. Sharing camp for long enough meant he had seen more than enough of Fero naked, and could visualize every detail. Lem would kneel over Fero, and kiss his way over his body until Fero could no longer bare it, and began to beg him to touch his cock. Then Lem would open himself up, oiling his fingers and making Fero watch without touching. Finally, when he was ready, he would ride Fero to his heart’s content. Lem was pulled from his thoughts as his horse jolted over an uneven stretch of the road. However, the fantasy still remained in the back of his mind. Lem knew he would likely revisit it when they next reached an inn and he lay alone in bed at night.

*

It was just the next day that they were attacked by bandits. The two had managed to eventually defeat them, when Lem’s violin released a strange and vicious note he hadn’t known he could even make. If only it hadn’t been in response to seeing Fero stabbed in the torso, and falling to the ground.

 “Oh gods, Fero. We need to get you to a healer,” Lem ran over and began quickly bandaging the wound, but he knew that would be a temporary solution at best.

“The nearest town is far, Lem. I won’t be able to make it that long,” Fero’s face was white and Lem could feel his whole body trembling.

“No, no, you’ll be fine,” Lem felt the tears well up in his eyes. He could not- He _would_ not lose Fero. Not now, not like this. He tried to blink back the tears, but felt a few escape to trail down his cheeks. He noticed Fero’s eyes dart to his before Fero pasted on a pained attempt at a smile.

“Of course, I’ll be fine Lem. I can um… I can heal myself and turn into a cougar and we’ll make it to town in no time,” Fero’s brow furrowed with concentration as his hand went to the wound in his side. It closed slightly, but not enough. There was still a gash along Fero’s chest and so much blood.

“Fero, you’re too weak. And don’t you dare transform like this! I have no idea what that will do to your wound, but I doubt it will be good. You’re in no condition to run anywhere,” Lem let his worry fade into anger and found his head clearing.

“We don’t have any other choice, Lem,” Fero’s eyes were wet now too.

“Of course we have a choice. I can carry you. I’ll bring you to the town,” he lifted Fero up into his arms in a bridal carry. Fero was so weakened he didn’t even put up a token resistance.

“We won’t make it,” Fero whispered, “Lem I’m sorry. I- I love you. I just- Well I need you to know that. In case-”

“Fero, oh dear Fero, I love you too. But we can save that for later. We will make it there. We have to,” Lem remembered his map and began following the path that would take them to the nearest marked town, the one they had planned to stop at this evening, which was big enough to have someone trained in healing. Then Lem began to run. And as he ran he hummed, plucking notes out of the air for speed and endurance. His feet hit the dirt, beating out a rhythm of protection. He ran and ran, and didn’t dare to stop. He could feel Fero’s heartbeat where his hands cradled his back and Lem held onto that as a lifeline until he reached his destination. He had barely noticed the village rising in the distance, so entranced by his own pattern, until he reached the gates.

“Please!” he yelled at the guards, “We were attacked by bandits, he needs a healer. Please.”

One of them led Lem to the central building of the town, some kind of church and city hall all in one. He could barely recall reaching the healer and laying Fero down on the bed before he himself collapsed beside it.

The next morning, he woke with a crick in his neck from the uncomfortable angle of sleeping in a chair, but there beside him was Fero. Eyes open, chest rising and falling.

“Fero,” he reached a hand out to his friend, “Oh thank the gods. You’re alive.”

“Thanks to you,” Fero smiled, “whatever you did to get us here in time shouldn’t have been possible. Not that I’m not glad. But I should be dead. Would be, if not for my very own miracle worker.”

“I would do anything for you, Fero. Even impossible things” Lem said. And it was true. Fero was his dearest friend, and Lem couldn’t bear the thought of life without him. He would pull the pattern in unknown, even dangerous ways if there was the slightest chance it would help Fero. Yesterday had proven that twice already.

“I didn’t imagine it, did I? When I told you I loved you, you-” Fero didn’t finish his sentence, just looked at Lem, the picture of vulnerability. Lem felt his heart jerk.

“I said I loved you too. And I do,” Lem took Fero’s hand in his. Fero squeezed back and let out a yawn.

“We should date then,” Fero said, as though it were just as simple as that. And maybe it was.

“First you should sleep, you need to regain your strength.”

“But then dating,” another yawn.

“Yes, then dating.”

*

The next time Fero brought up horses was a while later. After Ephrim had joined their party. After Fantasmo left, Lem’s mind liked to unhelpfully remind him. They were leaving to the New Archives with Devar, to spread word of Arrell’s strange plot to kidnap people into bubbles, and travel from Rosemerrow to the New Archives required horses. As usual, Fero decided to become his own horse.

“One of you could ride me instead. It would save money,” Fero suggested when they went to the stables to buy horses for Devar and Ephrim to use on the journey. Lem had already claimed Elgash Or’s horse, a well-built creature capable of easily carrying the weight of an orc.

“No!” Lem said, feeling his face heat and falling easily back into the well-trodden argument. Even now that he and Fero were dating, the thought was uncomfortable. Something that intimate, almost sexual, should not be done. At least not publically.

“It wouldn’t be that weird, Lem, like after the first time. It’s just like a new tool. At first it’s confusing but then someone shows you how to use it and it just become normal,” Fero said, turning to Ephrim and Devar, “back me up you guys.”

Ephrim gave Fero a speculative look that hit Lem right in his stomach, where a churning jealousy began to rise. Lem wasn’t about to ride Fero’s back, but if someone were to do it, it should be him. Not Ephrim. Ephrim had no right to come in with a face more beautiful than Lem’s own and a tongue quicker than Lem’s violin, and give Fero such a look. Riding Fero, as much as it belonged to anyone, belonged to Lem.

“Except that that tool is my boyfriend,” he emphasized the word, taking care not to glare at Ephrim like he really wished, “And look, I’ve already taken Elgash Or’s horse. It’s not like we’re so low on gold we can’t afford two more horses.”

Lem glanced down at Fero, expecting yet another retort he would need to combat, but instead found a blushing Halfling avoiding his eyes. He took a step closer to Fero as the two walked and leaned down slightly to whisper in the vicinity of his ear, “Are you alright?”

“Yeah. Of course. I’m fine. What’s not to be fine about?” Fero snapped, puffing up his chest. His eyes stayed glued to the dirt road.

“Honestly, I don’t know. But you’re the one avoiding eye contact, so I assumed there was something on your mind. You don’t need to tell me anything. I just hoped you were comfortable enough to… Well, never mind.”

“Oh. Um. It’s just. You called me your boyfriend. In front of other people,” Fero’s eye rose to meet his own, inscrutable, “You’ve never done that before.”

“I’m sorry? Was that wrong of me?” Lem’s stomach tightened. He’d never felt the way he felt about Fero before. There’d been a few dates when he was still at the Archives, but nothing like this relationship. Of course he had no idea what he was doing. Of course he’d done something wrong, “I won’t do-”

“No!” Fero cut him off, but quickly lowered his voice at the glares of a few nearby Halflings, “No. It’s not bad at all. It’s actually- It’s good. It’s very good. I’d like it if you’d, uh, keep doing that. Because we are right? I’m your boyfriend. You’re _my_ boyfriend.”

“Of course,” Lem said, understanding Fero’s reaction as it finally hit him. He and Fero were dating. Fero was his and he was Fero’s. He picked Fero up into his arms to lift him into a kiss. When the two parted Lem could see Fero’s blush, matching the one he felt in his own cheeks. He snuck Ephrim a look and found the prince engrossed in some conversation with Devar.

Then Fero’s hand reached out to his and they intertwined fingers, and suddenly all Lem’s jealousy slipped away.

*

Fero was beautiful where he lay beneath Lem. So open and trusting as he thrust up into Lem desperately. And so small between Lem’s legs. Lem knelt above him, and lowered himself so gently and slowly he thought he may die of his own impatience. But Fero was too precious, and far too delicate, to be handled with anything but the utmost care.

“Faster, Lem, please,” Fero whined.

“Shh, darling,” Lem leaned forward and soothed him with a kiss, “I don’t want to crush you.”

At that, Fero went bright red, grasping at Lem’s thighs with a cut off moan. His hand spanned less than a quarter of the way round, and he dug his nails in, leaving small crescent marks.

“Oh,” Lem breathed in realization, “you wouldn’t mind that would you?” He let his knees bend further and further until his weight hovered just above Fero. Then he dropped himself, resting his full weight upon the Halfling for an instant, before rising slightly. Fero gasped and thrust up into him, drawing out an answering moan.

“Oh gods, oh Lem, please, please,” his fingers spasmed, clenching and unclenching around Lem’s legs.

“What do you want, sweetheart?” Lem teasingly lifted himself still further, using all of his willpower to overcome the urge to simply impale himself upon Fero’s cock.

“Lem,” Fero whined, his hands pulling down on Lem’s thighs ineffectually, “Lem, please!”

Lem rested his hands on top of Fero’s for a moment, marveling at the way his hands engulfed Fero’s. He felt the pressure of Fero’s tugs, but remained in place, savoring the control he felt and the way Fero whimpered in helpless arousal.

“Look at you. So desperate. But what can you do? You’re just so small, entirely at my whim,” he lowered himself again, “I don’t know why I bother. Even your cock is tiny.”

That was an abject lie, as Lem felt Fero’s cock filling him wonderfully, but it felt like the right thing to say in the moment. In response, Fero squirmed beneath him, giving Lem pause for a moment, wondering if perhaps he’d gone too far, but Fero’s eyes met his, pupils blown wide, expression full of love and trust and lust as he gasped out, “Lem! Don’t stop!”

Then Lem began to ride Fero in earnest, rocking above him and bringing one hand to his own cock, “Can barely fill me,” he babbled out, “but so desperate to try. Oh, Fero! So good for me. My Fero.”

Fero came beneath him, and with a few more pulls on his cock, Lem followed. He collapsed on the bed beside Fero as both tried to calm their gasping breaths.

“Well,” Lem said, “that was, uh…”

“Incredible. You liked that too right, it wasn’t just me?” Fero turned to him.

“Yes, it was, but I hope I didn’t-”

“It was perfect Lem. You were perfect,” Fero nestled up to Lem, resting his head on his chest, “I love you.”

“I love you too, Fero. More than anything,” Lem wrapped his arms around Fero, as he felt himself growing tired.

“Plus I finally got you to ride me,” he winked at Lem. And Lem felt his mouth drop open.

“You are unbelievable!” Lem sputtered.

“And you love me anyway.”

Lem looked at Fero’s face, mouth turned up in a wide grin, and thought about how dear it had become to him. The face he hoped to see every night before he went to sleep and every morning when he woke.

“Yes, I really do.”


End file.
